City Offers Help to Renovate Homes in Blighted Neighborhoods
Two big economic development projects in Birmingham may pay off for city neighborhoods. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced a program Wednesday to spend $1 million on home renovations in blighted neighborhoods.
The program will improve 100 homes in 100 days. Woodfin says the money comes from the sale of two city properties: a downtown parking deck after the grocery delivery app Shipt expanded, and the site of a new data center planned near Sixth Avenue South.
Those sales generated $1.6 million, city officials say. Some of it will also go toward demolition and administration of the home repair program.
Low-income residents or senior citizens who own their homes can apply for assistance. Woodfin says the city will offer up to $10,000 for each approved home.
“Our plan is to bundle our work to transform entire blocks instead of renovating one home on a street, which would otherwise be surrounded by blight,” Woodfin says.
The program’s initial phase will focus on five neighborhoods. Woodfin says there could be similar programs in the future.
The city is partnering with Neighborhood Housing Services for the renovation program. Interested applicants should contact NHS at 205-328-4292 or via email at neighborhoods@birminghamal.gov. Laborers interested in working on the renovations should also contact NHS.
Russia launched an experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, the U.S. says
Ukraine raised alarm suggesting Russia may have used an intercontinental ballistic missile to hit the city of Dnipro, but the U.S. National Security Council does not believe it was an ICBM.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdraws as Trump’s attorney general nominee
Allegations of sex trafficking and drug use had stirred controversy over Matt Gaetz's nomination as attorney general.
This year’s FAFSA is officially open. Early review says it’s ‘a piece of cake’
The FAFSA form is now open to students hoping to get help paying for college in the 2025-26 academic year. Students can expect a much smoother process compared to the last cycle.
He was stuck in a hospital for 8 months. How states can fail people with disabilities
In Georgia and other states, the federal government oversees the treatment of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities, because the states have been unable to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the subsequent Olmstead ruling.
Foreign nationals propel U.S. science. Visa limits under Trump could change that
The incoming Trump administration is likely to crack down on the H-1B visas used by tech companies and research institutions to hire top talent from other countries.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
